Dear People Who Keep Company With God,
There is a hymn with the lines, “Prone to wander Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” I think wandering may have a bad rap. I realize wandering can be a bad thing if we are wandering from God, however I believe God causes us to wander not from Him, but into His heart and purposes. We see this in the life of Abraham, the father of faith.
And it came to pass, when God caused me to wander from my father’s house… Genesis 20:13
The concept of God causing us to wander removes the idea that there can be any real precision to our Christian life. That is really hard for a lot of folks to accept, but it is the way God designed life in His kingdom to work. I call it the non-linear Christian life.
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” John 3:8
Note it says “so is everyone born of the Spirit”. We are like the wind. Many of us have overlooked that. There will be uncertainty in our walk with God if we are walking after the Spirit. Sure the Lord orders our steps, but He did not say they were linear and in sequence. Line upon line, precept upon precept was a rebuke (Isaiah 28:13). We have to get comfortable with something that can be really uncomfortable at times.
The business world is catching on to the non-linear thinking concept. The following are excerpts from an article written by executive search consultant Claudio Fernández-Aráoz on the value of non-linear career path in achieving success in business.
“Professional success used to depend on experience, knowledge, and skill. But things have changed in recent decades. First, knowledge has become as rapidly obsolete as universally available. Second, we live in an increasingly uncertain and volatile world where, I often say, even the past has become unpredictable. And, finally, business has become more global and diverse. In this new normal, experience and knowledge are less relevant, while the abilities to learn and adapt, to be resilient and to connect with others are ever more crucial. I like job candidates who have followed non-traditional career paths. That’s why I look for people who have shown the penchant for personal disruption.
In my view, non-linear job changes can tell a lot about several powerful emotional intelligence-based competencies — flexibility, adaptability, empathy, organizational awareness and relationship management — that differentiate stars from average performers in new roles. Disruptive moves can also tell you a lot about potential because they show a candidate’s curiosity, insight, inspiration and determination, which in turn indicate a search for learning and challenge.”
This year God in His wisdom has allowed some significant disruptions to occur all around us. God caused us to wander. It has been extremely uncomfortable at times, but in the middle of it all we experienced a mighty grace to adapt, be resilient and stay connected to the God we love and each other. God is using all the disruptions to lead us right into His heart and purposes.
Many Blessings, BW